Customer Reviews

First Resort

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I've read all three of Nanci Little's novels - THIN FIRE, A GRASS WIDOW, and now the terrific FIRST RESORT. Each time, I've been so moved by Little's writing that I've gone back to the book over and over, and read it multiple times. In fact, I loved FIRST RESORT so much that I actually read it TWICE in one week! And I'll undoubtedly revisit it again in a few months. Meanwhile, I'm buying copies for friends. Like Little's other books, FIRST RESORT is a story of great depth and complexity. It unfolds slowly and tenderly, as Little gently reveals the central characters: Jordan (the lesbian golf pro of a Maine golf resort) and a heterosexual widow & resort guest named Gillian. Each is a survivor of great personal trauma. They lovingly help each other to face their personal herstories, while developing a wonderful friendship and learning to move forward, toward their happy endings. I also enjoyed some of the supporting characters a lot - especially two lesbian friends, Gillie's daughter, and Jordan's uncle. (It's nice to see a lesbian novel with such a fully-formed, positive male character! In fact, that's one of the things I like most about Little's books - the fact that she includes fully complete and positive characters of BOTH genders.)I don't want to deprive any potential readers of coming to know the central women or the supporting cast via Little's exquisite writing, so I won't say much more about them. But they are so wonderfully drawn that I absolutely hated to see the book end, and I would welcome more stories featuring Jordan and Gillian. -- Jordan, especially, is one of the most ethical and wonderful characters I've seen in a book in the past year. I wish the world had more Jordans! I'm also impressed by the way that Ms. Little handled some very powerful and sensitive themes, such as physical abuse, sexism, homophobia, and the impact of alcohol in our community.To sum, I absolutely loved this book! At the end of this beautiful story, I felt warmed, happy, and utterly satisfied. I can't wait for another novel from this incredibly talented writer. We need more books by women of her caliber!

I can see why anyone who thought that "First Resort" was about golf would be bitterly disappointed. This is not a book about golf; that's merely the setting. Rather, it is a story about relationships, friendship and healing.

I would agree with some of the former reviewers that say, "God, can those people drink!" I don't believe, however, that it is inconsistent with either character's facility for denial or propensity towards escapism. I think the fact that they drink so much is the point. It allows them, temporarily, to be able to live with themselves. The fact that they can function and seem to function fairly well is all part of the myth they've constructed. I guess those readers never got the continual references to "The Great Gatsby."

As for another reviewer's criticism that Jorden seems too good to be true, what's wrong with being multitalented? We never question a variety of expertise's if the character is a man. Tom Clancy's characters are far more extraordinary in their ability to be experts in a multitude of areas. Why can't a woman?

What I found in Nanci Little's writing was a narrative style that is finely tuned, poetic without being excessive. Her characters live and breathe on the page. They are flawed, and they have courage and grace. They are not so different from many people I've known.

As I wrote earlier, this is not a book about golf; however, I learned more about the beauty of the sport than anyone has been able to convey to this non-golfer. I finally understood the allure of the greens. I've even considered taking it up.

As a book, "First Resort" is better than most. If you prefer stories about human relationships, take a chance on this one. It's a good read.

The posting from "a women's studies student" is disturbing, not so much because it attacks the author (a behavior that has no place in a book review), but because it attacks women. Barely more than a paean to the forced imposition of political correctitude, it denies wealthy white lesbians their right to exist, and denies the existence of places where wealthy lesbians of any color might gather. It assumes that because the author does not state the ethnicity of characters, those characters must necessarily be white; I read Park Webster's character as black, because of her dialogue (as did several of my friends), and visualized Olathe as an exotic cultural mix. And it ignores the body of the author's work: in two previous novels, people of color were prominently and fairly featured.

The so-called review is also dishonest in its assertion that in the novel "all the men, without exception, are either abusive, insensitive, or sexually predatory." The chef Gaston is not sexually predatory; it is evident that he genuinely likes and respects Jordan, and their interplay is clearly stated as a game they both enjoy. Michael Goodnow is human: he has a moment of bottom-line-induced insensitivity, realizes what that mistake nearly cost him in much more human terms, and grows from the experience. John Laing is a self-serving weasel; Stewart Stedman is an honest, hardworking man. Doc and Fred, older gentlemen who are mentors and friends of Jordan, accept her sexuality without discussion of it, as older men would tend to do. One of the golfers in the offensive foursome (in a scene I loved!) is an obnoxious jerk; one of them goes so far as to apologize for his buddy's behavior. One of the caddies is a skinhound; one is a genuinely nice guy (who, by the way, stutters; most stutterers consider that to be a disability). The men in the book balance each other out, and reflect a broad range of reality.

"Women's studies"? This book IS a study of women. Their race and social status and size or lack thereof have nothing to do with their pain or their joy. If anything, the novel shows that money is not necessarily a big green net waiting to catch a woman falling off the tightrope of her life. One of the reasons I enjoy Nanci Little's writing is that she seems to assume a certain level of intelligence of the part of her reader. Obviously, in the instance of "a women's studies student," Ms Little assumed too much.

Wow. That was all I could say after I read this book. I bought it because of the cover, I thought it was going to be a golf book. Well, it was and it wasn't. The author knows golf (one mistake, catch it if you can.) But she knows women better. WOW does she know women. She hammered stuff home that's been eating me up half my life. That conversation about moths in a roomful of candles just killed me. Not easy stuff, but I don't like to read easy stuff. There's too much of that crap out there. I read the reviews here and it seems like people either love or hate this book. All I can say is take the chance, because I loved it. I've read it twice now and the stuff that comes out the second time is worth the trip. It makes me wonder what I'll see the third time I read it. I did that with her first two books too, read them and liked them enough to read them again, and got more out of them the next time, and read them again and got some more. Usually I just lend lesbian novels and don't care if they never come back. I don't lend Nanci Little's books. She is up on my bookshelf next to Katherine V. Forrest.

Girls, I've been thumped on, I've golfed (a lot, and this book is spot on in that regard) and I've been up under the hands of more than one good massage therapist, and I'll tell you, Nanci Little's got it all right. I know I wasn't the first one to get all curled up tight on a massage table and I know I won't be the last, and this author gives up how it is to be there. Jordan Bryant has good hands and a good heart, and I believe in her even if she does seem too good to be true. There's such a thing as compulsive overachievement. She's driven. Nobody believes my resume either. Two words for them who don't.

This book works. Let loose a bag of marbles across a hardwood floor and they'll roll like the words of Nanci Little, smooth and easy and making you believe in the end. The girl's good. Never mind those low-star reviews later on down this page. You got enough age on you to have learned how to think, you and this book are going to get along. Not to mention you might need a shower before it's over. Takes her a while to get that oven up and running, but when she does, she cooks!

I've read all three of Nanci Little's novels - THIN FIRE, A GRASS WIDOW, and now theterrific FIRST RESORT. Each time, I've been so moved by Little's writing that I've gone backto the book over and over, and read it multiple times. In fact, I loved FIRST RESORT somuch that I actually read it TWICE in one week! And I'll undoubtedly revisit it again in afew months. Meanwhile, I'm buying copies for friends. // Like Little's other books, FIRSTRESORT is a story of great depth and complexity. It unfolds slowly and tenderly, as Little gently reveals the central characters: Jordan (the lesbian golf pro of a Maine golf resort)and a heterosexual widow & resort guest named Gillian. Each is a survivor of greatpersonal trauma. They lovingly help each other to face their personal herstories, whiledeveloping a wonderful friendship and learning to move forward, toward their happy endings. // I don't want to deprive any potential readers of coming to know these women via Little's exquisite writing, so I won't say anything more about them. But they are so wonderfully drawn that I absolutely hated to see the book end, and I would welcome more stories featuring these characters. // I can't understand the reviewer who criticized this book so virulently. We must have read different novels, because those criticisms strike me as completely unfounded. First off, Jordan is NOT Gillian's therapist - the two women have a loving friendship. If anything, Jordan is one of the most ethical characters I've seen in a book in the past year. I wish the world had more Jordans. And, while there IS a lot of alcohol consumed, it's completely consistent with these women's stories. In my opinion, their use of alcohol is a theme that Ms. Little addresses quite effectively and realistically, and I was pleased by that aspect of the story. // To sum, I loved this book. At the end, I felt warmed, happy, and utterly satisfied. I can't wait for another novel from this incredibly talented writer. We need more books by women of her caliber!

Nanci Little has become my favorite author. In Last Resort (as well as her other two novels)- I felt as if everything was happening right around me-its that realistic! The characters, contrary to what a few others have said, really spoke to me. I found them totally believable and had no problem at all with Jordan's multiplicity of talents. To comment critically on the alcohol use, the golfing setting (which I found accurate), the misogynist characters, etc., speaks volumes on the lack of understanding of some readers. I felt that each of these aspects was necessary to the storyline and were universally handled in a tasteful and positive manner. I hope Ms. Little is just at the start of a long and prolific writing career. I, for one, will read everything she writes.

Nanci Little has done a wonderful job of crafting an engaging tale of love, desire and longing. As refreshing as a Long Island Iced Tea in summer, it breezes along, sweeping you along with it. I lost a good part of the day buried in it -- before I realized what time it was! No book can be all things to all people, but it's the kind of book that women and all queers should be proud of -- a smart, well-crafted book that's a lot of fun to read . Really, that's probably the highest form of praise that you can give to a fiction author. Kudos!

A friend loaned me her copy of this book. I loved it so much that I bought a copy of my own. It's really, really great.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Engrossing story line - terrific characters - great scenery and golf. A beautiful story of friendship and love between two women.

I'm telling my friends to go get this one!